John,

The Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro elephants are a beloved and intensively studied population that range between Kenya and Tanzania. For 30 years these famed cross-border elephants have been safe from trophy hunters — but not anymore.

Over the past nine months, five iconic males have been killed for hunting trophies in Tanzania — including several super-tuskers, males with tusks weighing 100 pounds or more. Sadly the bodies of these venerable elephants were burned and buried, which prevented positive identification of all who were shot, but one was identified as Gilgil. About 35 years old, Gilgil was on the brink of reaching his reproductive peak. Now some 20 to 25 other mature males with ranges that include Tanzania and who have large, intact tusks are also at risk.

The United States is the primary importer of Tanzanian elephant trophies. And at least one of the five male elephants recently lost was killed by a Texas hunter. Shutting down the U.S. market could really help protect these elephants from trophy hunters’ bullets. [link removed]

The Amboseli elephants are the longest-studied elephants in the world. Much of what we know about elephants today comes from over 50 years of dedicated research on these creatures. We can’t let them be suddenly, cruelly gunned down for sport.

Tell U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams to ban all imports of elephant trophies from the Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro elephant population. [link removed]

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